• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, March 2, 2005

No, this is not a sports column. But it invites you to look at something through a different set of eyes.

I want to take a moment to congratulate someone. I come to you today as a proud graduate of Syracuse University when I recognize that this past weekend, Jim Boeheim celebrated his 700th win at Syracuse in a game against Providence.

For those of you who don't know, Boeheim has been involved in Syracuse basketball since 1962 as a player and then as coach. He has been involved with the same organization for more than 40 years and even though his role may have changed within that organization, he has been loyal, consistent, and stuck with it in order to see improvement and continue to learn.

Our industry will never see anything like this. When advertising looked back at its 40th anniversary, was there anyone who could say they stuck with the same organization through it all? When the interactive industry looks back on its first 40 years will anyone be able to say they stuck with an organization half as long?

In today's market, it is relatively impossible to find the kind of loyalty that is demonstrated by Boeheim. Most people I know are lucky to have been with a company for four or five years. I have been at relatively few companies compared to some of the people I know, and I can name two where I had residence for more then three years. Is loyalty a thing of the past? Has the almighty dollar become the symbol of success?

Now, I can't knock anyone for playing the field a little bit and testing the market. It happens all the time and it helps us evaluate who we are and what we are worth. In sports, we have free agency. In advertising, we have recruiters. It's definitely part of the landscape and part of the game in today's world to seek success elsewhere.

On one side of the coin, this is good because it levels the playing field and ensures that all of the knowledge does not rest with one organization. You get trained in one place and you take your skills somewhere else. You learn more at your second stop, and you move on to greener pastures. There is a relatively finite amount of talent in the marketplace, so you never burn a bridge and you always stay in touch because you never know when the opportunity will arise for you to go back and work with some of your old colleagues. You'll either join them at your old company, or at a new company that launches to fill a niche that's not currently being addressed.

But what about the concept of consistency? What about loyalty? What about the P&G model of allowing people to move around within an organization and learn different aspects of the business in exchange for their loyalty and the opportunity for advancement with the company? Why is this concept an afterthought in today's workplace?

It's possible that the workplace today does not promote this type of consistency. It's possible that in this era of unbundling and role fulfillment that each company offers a limited scope for expertise and to become more well rounded, you need to seek information from differing sources. Or, maybe human nature is one that feeds off change. Maybe our minds operate on a revolutionary scale rather than an evolutionary scale. Is it possible that we require a new environment from time to time in order to spark the brain into acquiring new information?

I wish I had the answers, because I think it would make life a whole lot easier for a bunch of people. But since I don't have the answer, I want to be sure that we give credit where credit is due and recognize loyalty, consistency, and success where it's appropriate.

Congratulations Jim Boeheim.